


We'll Make it Right For You

by Sohotthateveryonedied



Series: Whumptober 2020 [8]
Category: Batgirl (Comics), Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types, Red Robin (Comics), Robin (Comics)
Genre: Angst, Body Dysphoria, Cuddling & Snuggling, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Prompt: Abandoned, Romance, Scars, Teen Pregnancy, Whumptober 2020, gosh i'm mad that dc took that arc out of current canon, i'd do it if i could draw but alas i can't, it was so good and gave her so much character development, look i'm a slut for domestic timsteph and you can't stop me, musings about stephanie brown's baby, past pregnancy, steph is self-conscious about her c-section scar, they also talk about having kids in the future, this turned SO fluffy i don't even know how it happened, which?? i've seen so much fanart of steph in crop tops but no one ever includes that detail
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-09
Updated: 2020-10-09
Packaged: 2021-03-07 20:20:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,405
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26903527
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sohotthateveryonedied/pseuds/Sohotthateveryonedied
Summary: Tim’s reflection stops in the doorway, taking in the scene before him. Steph’s shirt is still rucked up, showing off her ugly C-section scar. Tim insists that every part of her is beautiful, scars and all, but Steph knows better. She sees how people stare on the rare occasions in which she dares to wear a crop top, wondering what kind of a slut could have gotten pregnant so young. “Steph? You okay?”“Do you think she hates me?” She doesn’t need to clarify who she’s talking about; they’ve had this conversation enough times for Tim to know by now.
Relationships: Stephanie Brown/Tim Drake
Series: Whumptober 2020 [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1948297
Comments: 16
Kudos: 231





	We'll Make it Right For You

**Author's Note:**

> Whump Day 8: "Abandoned"
> 
> Title is taken from "Dear Theodosia" from Hamilton, which I've named at LEAST five or six of these whumptober fics after because I love parents caring about their children okay it keeps me GOING.
> 
> (This was supposed to be all angst but somehow it turned into fluff so whoopsie.)

Stephanie forgets sometimes.   
  
Not often. Never for longer than a few minutes at a time. But on days when there is nothing to feel but Gotham’s smoggy air and the sensation of flying through the streets on a gravity-defying grapple, she forgets about the scar. She forgets about all of it.   
  
Steph stands in front of her floor-length mirror now, her lavender tank top rolled up to just above her belly button. She doesn’t think about it much, not unless she brushes over it in the shower or is mourning the ability to wear a bikini at a public beach. Steph twists back and forth in the mirror, examining it from all angles. The scar isn’t huge, not gnarled or overly ridged. But even after five years, it’s still a vibrant, angry red.   
  
Steph runs her index finger across the scar, edge to edge. Feels the bumps and grooves in the flesh. She makes it a general rule not to think about her baby. It’s too painful, armed with too many memories she’d rather keep locked away in the past. Still, curiosity is a persistent thing.   
  
What is she like? Does she have blonde hair and blue eyes like Steph, or does she more closely resemble her deadbeat sperm donor? Does she have a firecracker personality or is she well-behaved, undeniably _good_ through and through? Does she wonder about the mother who abandoned her?   
  
Does she resent her for it?   
  
“Hey, Steph, do you know where that stain remover stuff is? I spilled Chipotle on my shirt which wouldn’t be a huge deal except that this is actually _Jason’s_ shirt and I’m just borrowing it without permission, and the last time I did this he said he’d break into our apartment and pee on our couch and he’s not the type to give out empty threats, so—”

Tim’s reflection stops in the doorway, taking in the scene before him. Steph’s shirt is still rucked up, showing off her ugly C-section scar. Tim insists that every part of her is beautiful, scars and all, but Steph knows better. She sees how people stare on the rare occasions in which she dares to wear a crop top, wondering what kind of a slut could have gotten pregnant so young. “Steph? You okay?”  
  
“Do you think she hates me?” She doesn’t need to clarify who she’s talking about; they’ve had this conversation enough times for Tim to know by now.   
  
He lingers in the doorway for only a second. He comes up and wraps his arms around Steph from behind, resting his chin on her shoulder. His hands cover hers over her stomach, blocking the scar from view. “I don’t think anyone could ever hate you.”   
  
“You know that’s not true.”   
  
“She doesn’t hate you, Steph.”   
  
“She’s old enough to wonder about it. About the birth mother who abandoned her.”   
  
“You didn’t _abandon_ her. She’s growing up somewhere with her family, happy and safe and grateful for her life. She can’t hate you for that.”   
  
“She might when she grows up.”   
  
“You kidding? If anything, she’s going to think about you and wonder what a great person her birth mother must have been. She’s going to think, ‘wow, my mother loved me enough to give me my best shot. She must have been so strong.’” There’s a longing in Tim’s voice that can’t be ignored, but Steph doesn’t dare ask what’s going through his mind. If he’s feeling the same loss Steph does.   
  
They don’t talk about that part, but Steph knows about the sonogram photo Tim keeps in one of the smaller photo albums on his bedroom shelf. Just as Tim has seen the baby blanket Steph shoved deep in the recesses of her closet and only dares to look at on dark days. They don’t talk about any of it, not out loud.   
  
“Do you think she has siblings, wherever she is?” Steph asks.   
  
_“God,_ I hope not.”   
  
Steph snickers. “You’re only saying that because you have five of them.”   
  
“Need I remind you that I was an only child for most of my life? I had no _idea_ how good I had it. Last night Duke switched out my smoke grenades with confetti bombs. I spent an _hour_ picking rainbow confetti out of my hair.” That makes Steph laugh for real this time.   
  
Then Tim’s expression turns tentative, musing. “You know, Bruce still keeps tabs on her like he promised. If you want—”   
  
“No.” Steph shakes her head. “I can’t do that.”   
  
“The adoptive parents _did_ give you their information if you ever wanted to reach out. You could meet her, maybe get some photos to see how she’s growing up.”   
  
Steph would be lying if she said the concept wasn’t tempting. She bites her lip, closing her eyes at the feeling of Tim’s pinkie idly tracing shapes over her belly. “You know when you tell yourself, ‘I won’t have any cake today,’ and you do a great job of it because there’s no cake around to eat? But then you go to a birthday party and actually see the cake sitting there all delicious-looking, and suddenly you can’t stop yourself from shoving the whole thing in your mouth because it’s, like, _right there.”_   
  
“I’m guessing she’s the cake in this scenario?”   
  
Steph nods. “If I know where she is or what she looks like, I don’t know if I’ll be able to keep myself away again. It’s easier if I don’t have any contact with her at all.”   
  
Tim doesn’t dispute her or try and convince her otherwise. He just nods and holds Steph tighter against himself, supporting her when she needs it so desperately. “What can I do to make you feel better right now? Anything you want.”   
  
Steph looks away from the mirror for the first time, turning her head to look back at Tim’s face, at the concern etched in every line. “Can you hold me for a while?”   
  
“Okay. I can do that.” Tim kisses her bare shoulder and lets her pull him toward the bed. They lie down on their sides, Tim situated behind Steph where he drapes his arm over her stomach to link their fingers together, holding her close.   
  
The ache doesn’t lessen. It’s still there, a throbbing sensation in Steph’s chest where her daughter has carved her way into her heart. But with Tim here, his warmth at her back and his nose buried in her blonde curls, it’s muted for the time being. She closes her eyes and soaks it in.   
  
“That thing you said earlier,” Tim starts after a few silent minutes, “about her having siblings.”   
  
“Yeah?”   
  
“What are your thoughts on that?”   
  
Steph shrugs. “I grew up an only child, and it got pretty lonely. I hope her parents at least gave her one or two so she won’t be alone.”   
  
“What about biologically?”   
  
It takes a moment for Steph to get what he’s hinting at. “Oh. _Oh._ You mean…” Her cheeks warm at the idea and she’s glad that he can’t see her face from this angle. “I don’t know. I haven’t really thought about it. Have you?”   
  
“All the time.” Now _that’s_ a surprise. Tim has admitted on quiet nights with no one but Steph and the starry sky listening in that the idea of having kids terrifies him. His own parents screwed up so badly that Tim doesn’t know if it means he’ll be cursed to repeat the cycle. Steph has told him before that of _course_ he would never neglect his kids the way his parents neglected him, but it’s done nothing to assuage his fears.   
  
“And what’s the verdict?” she asks, not entirely sure what answer she’s hoping for.   
  
“I mean...I don’t _hate_ the idea,” Tim admits. “Not right now, obviously. We’re still kids and I can’t order fast food by myself without panicking, but it’s nice to think about. Getting married, having kids, the whole deal.” She feels his face heat up against her neck. “If that’s what you want, of course.”   
  
“Really?”   
  
“I don’t know if I’ll ever be a good dad, but...I’ve seen the way you interact with kids, how you protect them as Batgirl. You’re good at it. You’d make a great mom someday.”   
  
Steph doesn’t know why that makes her want to cry all of a sudden. She snuggles closer to Tim, tightening her grip on his hand. “Someday,” she agrees.

**Author's Note:**

> [Feel free to mosey on down to my Tumblr!](http://sohotthateveryonedied.tumblr.com/)


End file.
